Let me be the first to tell you that no one is more shocked about my pregnancy food selections that me. I’m a juicer, a veggie and fruit lover, hot tea drinker and a fitness professional. Processed food is only on rare occasions and always results in an upset stomach. When I found out I was pregnant, I was training for a triathlon and had no intention of changing my eating habits except for expecting a few Phish Food ice cream cravings! This sounds like the perfect plan for a control freak and this is where Mother Nature has an extreme sense of humor. Not only did I have morning, noon and night sickness for 16 weeks, the only food I could keep down was BK chicken tenders. No amount of vegetable would stay down and there was nothing I could do about it.

I am still mortified.

Now why am I spilling my dirty little secret to you? Because I know that I’m not the first fitness enthusiast that has been caught off guard by no longer being in control of their body. Once I realized that I was along for the ride and not in control, I shifted my focus and trusted that my body was doing what it needed to do. However, I was becoming incredibly concerned that 10 months of fast food and Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese would be so addicting that it would be my new lifestyle. Not only that but the baby weight would never go away if that was the case and I was not OK with that! But all I could do was wait until after delivery and see what happened. I still can’t believe that not once did I have that Phish Food ice cream that I always dreamed would be enjoyed guilt-free in those 9 months. Actually, I’m a chocolate lover and never really wanted it. I craved gummy bears and Twizzlers throughout instead - such a weird thing! My total weight gain was 30 lbs.

It’s been 7 months since I delivered Oliver and guess what - I’m back to loving fruit, veggies and juice. Salads are delicious again and fast food is not! I will say that I do still enjoy a meal of Mac ‘n Cheese but I can live with that. I did a post-baby triathlon and I only have a couple pounds left to be back to the real pre-baby me! I will say that I wanted it to be instant but I knew it wouldn’t be. It takes 9 months to get there, I’m going to give myself a full 9 months to get back… and then maybe a bit more to account for the sleep deprivation!

I will tell you how amazing I think it was that after delivery, a switch was flipped and my usual self was back. I ordered a delicious, healthy breakfast just hours after delivering and the idea of a donut was not even present! I’m not sure what my body was telling me in those few months but its irony and sense of humor definitely shocked me.

Moral of the Story:

Sometimes you just have to let go and trust what your body is telling you.

Pro Tip:

Whenever I had a craving, I waited 15 minutes to indulge. 9 times out of 10, it would subside and I’d be onto something else by then! (This works for non-pregnancy times too!)